Safety razor



June 29, 1954 e. 'r. RANDOL 2,632,105

SAFETY RAZOR Filed March 13, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 29, 1954 s. "r. RANDOL SAFETY RAZOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 13, 1952 Patented June 29, 1954 UNITED STATES ZPATENT OFFICE SAFETY RAZOR Glenn T. Randal, Mountain Lake Park, Md.

Application March 13, 1952, Serial No. 27 6,293

14 Claims. l

The present invention relates to a safety razor, and more particularly to a razor provided with means accommodating slidable insertion and forcible ejection of an expendable blade, both insertion and ejection of the blade taking place rearwardly with respect to the razor-blade cutting components.

In the art of safety razors, the problem of simple and safe insertion and removal of an expendable blade has received considerable attention. For example, various types of pre-packed blade cartridges have been proposed, but the cartridges are not re-loadable by the consumer, and the cost of the disposable container and loader must be added to the cost of new blades. Most of the risk of personal injury from the blade edge is incurred during blade insertion and removal from the razor itself, and the provision of a razor which may be loaded with and emptied of blades in a safe and more economical and efficient manner would be most desirable.

The present invention provides such a razor. More specifically, the present invention provides a razor having an open rear-end section through which a single-edge razor blade may be safely and expeditiously inserted and forcibly ejected. For this reason, the razor of the instant invention may be termed breech-loading. The blade, when mounted in the razor, is firmly retained in cutting position by fixed, spaced retaining elements contacting marginal edges thereof, and also by a spring-loaded clamping element contacting a lateral surface of the blade intermediate the retained blade edges. To load the razor, it is only necessary to drop the blade into the razor while grasping the butt or unsharpened rear blade portion and to simultaneously depress the butt portion into contact with the rear blade retaining elements.

A cam ejector arm is pivotally carried by the razor to contact the blade when in use, the arm being normally spring-urged to an inoperative position. Actuation of the ejector arm against the action of the associated spring initially elevates the blade from its clamped cutting position, and then urges the blade rearwardly for rearward ejection through the razor breech.

It is not necessary to manually contact any portion of the blade other than the butt edge thereof during loading of the razor, and no manual contact whatsoever with the blade is necessary during blade ejection. Thus, the possibility of personal injury is reduced to a minimum without the need for special expensive blade packets or dispensers.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide a breech-loading razor facilitating blade insertion and removal while minimizing the risk of personal injury attendant thereto.

Another important object is the provision of a razor having a plurality of blade retaining elements associated with means for forcibly ejecting a blade therefrom.

It is a further object to provide an improved safety razor having an open rear end through which blades may be inserted for retention in a fixed cutting position between fixed retaining elements.

Still another important object is the provision of a razor having a blade ejection arm pivotally carried thereby for elevating and ejecting a blade from a cutting position at which the blade is firmly held between a plurality of retaining elements.

Yet a further object is to provide a razor having positive displacement blade ejection means without requiring special blade-loading or extraneous blade-discharging apparatus.

A more detailed object of the present invention is the provision of a razor having spaced bladeretaining elements adapted to receive a blade therebetween, and having a medially pivoted ejector arm interposed between the elements adapted to initially elevate and then to eject the blade from its retained position without the necessity of manually contacting the blade.

Another object related to that next above is to provide spring means for biasing the ejector arm to a lowered inactive position during insertion and use of the blade in its retained cutting position while accommodating pivotal ejection movement thereof.

It is a further detailed object related to the two objects immediately preceding, to provide a single leaf spring efiective to bias both the blade-retaining elements and the ejector arm to their res ective positions at which the blade is retained in effective cutting relation with respect to the razor.

Other important objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a rear perspective view of a razor of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front perspective view of the razor of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the plane IIIIII of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the plane IVIV of Figure 3 and showing a razor blade disposed in the razor in cutting position;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the razor of Figure 1 illustrating, in dotted outline, the positions assumed by a blade during breech loading of the razor;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the plane VI-VI of Figure 5, illustrating the razor head bottom structure and particularly the single leaf spring biasing both the blade clamping elements and the ejector arm;

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, with parts shown in elevation, taken along the plane VIIVII of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a sectional view, with parts shown in elevation, taken along the plane VIII-VIII of Figure 2, and particularly illustrating the ejector arm and the inoperative position it assumes under spring tension during loading and use of the blade;

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along the plane IXIX of Figure 8 with the blade removed for clarity;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 3, but illustrating initial actuation of the ejector arm to elevate the blade;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Figures 3 and 10, but with the ejector arm fully actuated to eject the blade;

Figure 12 is an enlarged elevational perspective view of the ejector arm alone;

Figure 13 is an elevational perspective view of the single leaf spring alone; and

Figure 14 is an elevational perspective view of the razor blade alone.

Referring to the drawings:

In Figures 1-14, inclusive, reference numeral [5 refers generally to a razor of the present invention. The razor I5 is provided with a handle 16 formed of suitable material, such as a moldalole plastic material, the handle being surmounted by a U-shaped bracket ll having a pair of spaced and fixed side plates l8 each terminating in outturned ears I!) providing a planar, forwardly pitched supporting surface upon which the razor blade-holding components are assembled, as will be hereinafter described. To add lateral stability to the side plates l8, the same are joined by a front web 20. The structure of the bracket I! is best illustrated in Figures 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11.

The bracket ears support, upon their upper 5.1

planar surface, a spring plate 2|, best shown in perspective in Figure 13. The spring plate 2| comprises a pair of laterally extending flanges 22, the extremities 22a of which are downwardly offset, and a centrally depending leaf spring por tion 23 of a width corresponding to, but slightly smaller than, the spacing between the plates I8.

Superimposed upon the spring plate 2! and upon the bracket ears I9 is a razor support plate 24 which is generally rectangular in shape (Figure 9) and which is provided with a central elongated slot 25 overlying and extending forwardly of the space between the bracket plates l8. The bracket ll, the spring plate 2!, and the support plate 24 are rigidly secured to"- gether by a pair of laterally spaced rivets 26 extending through registering apertures formed in the bracket ears 19, the spring plate flanges 22, and laterally spaced portions of the support plate 24, as best seen in Figure 7, Also, the support plate 24 is provided with a pair of integrally formed, upwardly displaced positioning buttons 24a, for a purpose to be hereinafter more fully explained.

The support plate 24 is provided at its rear edge with an upstanding ear 2'! adjacent each lateral extremity thereof, and at its front edge with upstanding projections 28 transversely aligned with the laterally outward portions of the cars 21'. The ears 2'! and projections 28 are provided with facing blade-engaging surfaces 29 and 30, respectively, with the surfaces 30 being undercut to lockingly receive the lateral extremities of a razor blade edge therebeneath, as will be later explained in greater detail.

Intermediate the projections 28, the forward edge of the plate 24 is slightly serrated, as is conventional in safety razors, to provide a cutter bar 3!, and the plate 24 is provided with a series of laterally aligned apertures 32 adjacent the bar 3 I.

A blade clamping plate 33 overlies the support plate 24 in spaced superjacent, forwardly pitched relation thereto, the plate 33 having a forwardly and downwardly projecting lip 34 normally contacting the support plate 24 at a plurality of spaced points along a longitudinal line of contact spaced rearwardly of the cutter bar 3|. The clamping plate 33 also has down-turned laterally spaced terminal flanges 35 extending along each marginal edge thereof, the flanges 35 being pinned or otherwise pivotally connected, as at 36, to the corresponding rear portions of the support plate 24. The flanges 35 overlie, and the free lower edges thereof contact, the extreme lateral portions 22a of the spring plate flanges 22,

so that the spring plate urges the clamping plate lip 34 against the support plate 24, as seen in Figure 11. It will be noted that elongated edgewise contact between the depending edges of the flanges 35 and the spring plate flanges 22 occurs only when a blade is not inserted between the razor clamping elements 24, 33. When the razor is loaded, as in Figure 5, the edges of the flanges 35 are not parallel and only point contact between these elements results. However, this point contact is to the rear of the pivot pin 36, so that the spring arms 22 bias the clamping plate lip 34 into edge contact with the blade.

As will be readily appreciated by an inspection of Figures 1, 3, 5, 8, 10 and 11, the rear end of the clamping plate 33 is spaced from the corresponding end of the support plate 24, and also the rear edge of the plate 33 is disposed forwardly of the lugs 21, so as to define an open rear or breech opening for the razor head.

That is to say, a breech opening for the insertion and subsequent ejection of blades is provided at the rear of the head, said opening having a generally rectangular configuration and being defined by the vertically spaced rear edges aforesaid of the clamping plate 33 and the support plate 24, together with the horizontally spaced rear edges of the flanges 35.

As best illustrated in Figure 14, the blade, indicated generally at 31, is of more or less conventional single-edge design, having a sharpened forward edge 38, a reinforced butt edge 39, and a central elongated slot 40. As indicated in Figures 1-4, 5 and 8, the dimension of the blade from cutting edge to butt edge corresponds to the distance between the blade engaging surfaces 29 and 30 of the support plate 24, and these surfaces, together with the spring-biased clamping plate 33, serve to retain the blade in fixed position. In addition, the spring-urged plate 33 tends to force the blade 31 downwardly between the surfaces 29 and 30 so that even greater blade-retention is obtained.

From Figure 8 it will be observed that the blade slot i0 and the support plate slot 25 are in registry when the blade til is in operating position within the razor. These registering slots are utilized to make possible blade ejection by cooperation of the blade and a cam ejector 4i journaled on a pivot pin 42 carried by and extending between the bracket side plates It. More specifically, and as best illustrated in Figure 12, the cam ejector M is provided with a forwardly projecting arm 43 terminating in a reduced finger A i defining adjacent cam shoulder surfaces 45, the arm 43 being insertable into the plate slot 25 and the finger 44 only being insertable into the blade slot til when a blade 37! is positioned within the razor head. Inasmuch as only the finger M enters the relatively narrow slot it in the blade 37, the cam shoulders 45. abut the under-surface of the blade adjacent the margins of the slot ill defining the straight intermediate portion thereof.

The ejector cam ii provided with a stop projection lie extending from the cam in spaced, angularly displaced relation to the arm 63. This stop it provides an elongated planar engaging surface il adapted to abut the depending spring leaf spring portion 23 of the plate 2i, so that the ejector cam ll is spring-biased in a counterclockwise direction (Figure 8) with the arm t?! normally abutting the forward edge of the sup-- port plate slot 25.

A. cam actuating arm 48' projecting rearwardly of the bracket ll immediately above the handle l6 completes the cam structure provides means for manually rotating the ejector cam as a unit in a clockwise direction against the biasing force of the spring arm 23. tion of the cam about the pin 42 is illustrated Figures and 11.

It will be appreciated that cam rotation will initially elevate the blade 3'! and then move the blade rearwardly for ejection through the breech opening at the rear of the razor head formed between the blade support platform 21. and the clamping plate 33. Blade elevation is facilitated by the engagement of the blade support plate buttons 24a with the razor blade ill. to dispose the blade in a cutting position at an angle to the support plate proper and the fur ther engagement of the blade edge 35", adjacent its lateral extremities, under the holding projec tions 28. Thus, blade elevation actually involves tipping the rear butt edge of the blade upwardly about its front or cutting edge by engagement of the cam shoulders t with the aforementioned under-surface of the blade adjacent the margins defining the straight intermediate portion of the slot 45, until the rear butt edge of the blade is clear of the rear holding projections 27!. After such blade elevation is completed, further manual actuation of the ejector cam ti moves the finger M thereof into engagement with the rear ward end of the slot it to thus impel the blade rearwardly until the same is entirely clear of the upper clamping plate 32}. After this rearward ejection movement is completed, the blade may be removed, either by manually grasping the blade butt edge or by merely inverting the razor head so that the blade may fall free of the razor by gravity. Of course, if the ejector cam Al is rapidly actuated, as upon rapidly depressing the actuating arm 48, the blade 3! will be forcibly This rotaejected from the razor head and thrown clear thereof through the breech opening.

After the blade has been ejected, the cam actuating arm may be released and the spring arm 23 will be effective to return the cam to its forwardmost position of Figure 8. The razor is now ready for reloading by merely inserting a blade through the open razor breech with the blade being urged forwardly for entry under the clamping plate 3.3 and depression into contact with the lugs 21 and 28, the lugs retaining the blade in effective cutting. position.

Thus, it will be seen that the present invention. provides a new and novel concept in the safety razor art. All manual handling of the razor blade is carried out by engagement of the users hand with the butt edge. Injection of the blades is simplified by the elimination of the necessity of opening the razor to receive the blade frontwardly therein as conventionally practiced, and the cam ejector 4! is automatically rendered completely inoperative during blade loading. The ejector cam is specifically designed to cooperate with the remainder of the razor head structure to impart two-stage vertical and lateral movements to the blade during ejection to insure complete and effective ejection despite relatively short ejector travel. In addition, the single spring leaf element 2! serves to both retain the blade within the razor head and to maintain the ejector cam 41 in inoperative retracted position until the same is manually activated. This single spring element also aids in the initial elevation of the blade and automatically returns the blade ejector cam 4| to its inoperative position when blade ejection has been completed. The utilization of a rearwardly pivoted and forwardly spring-biased blade clamping plate also constitutes a novel and desirable feature of the instant invention, since this structure resiliently retains the blade in fixed cutting position while accommodating insertion and removal of the blade in the manner described.

It will be understood that the presently preferred embodiment of my novel safety razor as herein disclosed, is susceptible of modification-s and variations within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim as my invention:

1. A razor including in combination: handle having a bifurcated end portion; a bla a clad retaining head fixedly secured to said end portion and having an interior chamber adapted to receive a blade therein, said chamber being defined by a blade-supporting and a blade-- clamping plate included in said head and disposed in vertically spaced relation relative to one another; a pair of horizontally spaced flanges formed on said clampingplate and engaging the side edges of the blade; a breech opening lead ing to said chamber for the insertion of the blade therein and for the removal of the blade therefrom, said opening being of a generally rectangular configuration and defined by the edges of said blade-supporting plate, said b1adeclamping plate, and said blade-engaging flanges; and actuatable cam means pivotally mounted in the bifurcated end portion of said handle, and movable in said chamber for operatively engaging the blade inserted therein to eject said blade therefrom via said breech opening.

2. A razor including in combination: a handle; a blade; a blade-supporting plate having transversely spaced blade-engaging elements thereon; a blade-clamping plate having a pair of lateral- 1y spaced depending flanges pivotally supported at one end from and in vertically spaced relation to said supporting plate; a transverse lip portion on the free terminal end of the clamping plate for engaging a portion of said blade adjacent the cutting edge thereof; a breech opening defined by the rear edges of said suporting plate, said clamping plate, and said flanges, for the insertion and removal of the blade; and a manually actuatable member operatively mounted on said handle, and having an integral arm projecting into the space between said plates for operative engagement with an inserted blade whereby to eject the blade through said breech opening when the actuatable member is depressed.

3. In a razor: a single-edged blade; a bladeretaining head including a supporting plate for the blade; fixed front and rear projections on the plate for engaging edge portions of the blade to releasably maintain it in cutting position; a clamping plate for stabilizing the blade body when in cutting position, said clamping plate being provided with a pair of transversely spaced down-turned flanges each having a pivotal connection with the supporting plate; a breech opening defined by the rear edges respectively of said supporting plate, said clamping plate and said clamping plate flanges; and mechanism operatively associated with said head for ejecting a used blade through the breech opening, said mechanism comprising an ejector cam having means for operativeiy engaging the blade, means pivotally mounting said cam for relative movement with respect to said head about a transverse axis displaced from the point of cam and blade engagement, and a manually movable lever arm for actuating said cam to first elevate the butt edge of the blade above the rear projections of the supporting plate, and thereafter to move said blade rearwardly through the breech opening.

4. In a razor, a blade-retaining head comprising a fixed supporting plate having spaced projections for receiving a razor blade therebetween, a clamping plate pivoted to said supporting plate and having a forward end for engaging a surface portion of said blade and a rear portion spaced from said supporting plate to define a bladereceiving breech therebetween, and a pivot cam arm extending through said supporting plate for operatively engaging said blade and movable about a rearwardly located axis to move said blade vertically and laterally for ejection through said breec I 5. In a razor: a blade; spaced blade-engaging elements adapted to receive a blade in the space therebetween, said elements comprising a rigid supporting plate and a pivotally mounted clamping plate for the blade; a pair of horizontally spaced depending flanges on the clamping plate defining with the rear marginal edge portions of said plate and the similar marginal edges of the supporting plate a breech opening through which the blade may be positioned in said space; cam means including an arm adapted to operatively engage the blade positioned in said space; spring means normally biasing said cam means to inoperative position; and means to actuate the cam means in opposition to said spring means for ejecting the blade from the space aforesaid via the breech opening.

6. In a razor including cooperable spring biased blade-engaging elements having spaced edges defining an opening remote from the cutting edge of a blade interposed therebetween, an elongated actuating arm having a terminal portion interposed between said elements for operative engagement with said blade, and means pivotally disposing said arm for rotation about an axis remote from said blade, rotation of said arm moving said blade from a cutting position between said elements toward said opening for ejection therethrough.

'7. In a razor, a handle, a head carried by said handle, a pair of cooperable clamping elements carried by said head and pivotable relative to one another, spring means interposed between said handle and one of said elements to urge the same into clamping relation to secure a razor blade therebetween in cutting position, said elements being spaced apart adjacent one end to provide a blade ejection opening, and an ejector arm carried by said handle for pivoted movement about an axis remote from the blade and having one end projecting into operative contact with said blade, actuation of said arm moving said blade toward and through said opening to eject said blade from its said cutting position.

3. A r zor comprising a handle bifurcated at one end, a supporting plate secured to said bifurcated end to overlie the same and having an aperture therethrough communicating with said bifurcated end, a clamping plate overlying said supporting plate to confine a razor blade therebetween, spring means for urging said clamping plate against the blade, said supporting blade having spaced projections contacting opposed edges of said blade, and an actuating lever projecting through said aperture in said supporting plate and supported for pivoting movement between the bifurcations of said handle, said lever operatively contacting the undersurface of said blade and being effective to move said blade laterally from its clamped position.

9. A razor comprising a blade-retaining head having an open breech end and cooperating clamping elements one of which is spring loaded to retain a blade in cutting position out of registry with said breech end, and an actuatable ejector mechanism having a portion projecting into said head into operative contact with the blade retained thereby for moving the blade into registry with and through said breech end upon actuation of said mechanism.

10. A razor comprising a pair of relatively movable clamping elements effective to confine a razor blade therebetween, spring means for resiliently urging one edge of one of said elements into contact with the blade with the opposing edge of said one element being spaced from a corresponding edge of the other of said elements to define an open blade port, and manually actuatable means operatively contacting said blade intermediate the said edges of said. one element and effective upon actuation to first elevate said blade against the action of said spring means and to then laterally move said blade from its confined position between said elements for ejection through the open port between said corresponding spaced edges.

11. In a razor construction: a blade; a fixed lower blade-supporting plate and a movable superjacent blade-clamping plate defining an interior chamber adapted to receive therein the razor blade in firmly clamped cutting position; a pair of integral transversely spaced flanges depending from the clamping plate along the side marginal edges thereof; a pivotal connection between each of said flanges and the blade-supporting plate; a leaf spring biasing the free end of the clamping plate into engagement with the blade adjacent the cutting edge thereof; a breech opening opposite said cutting edge for the manual insertion of the blade into said chamber, said opening being defined by the rear edges of said clamping plate, said lower plate, and said flanges; a blade ejecting mechanism including, a rotatably mounted arm projecting into said interior chamber and operable to eject therefrom the blade through said opening; and means for manually actuating said mechanism.

12. In a razor; a fixed support plate having spaced projections adapted to contact the cutting and butt edges respectively, of a razor blade; a clamping plate comprising an angularly disposed clamping lip for contacting the blade adjacent the cutting edge thereof and marginal flanges projecting therefrom toward said support plate to terminate in angular free edges to form a breech opening between said plates adjacent the butt edge of said blade, means for pivotally securing said clamping plate flanges to corresponding portions of said support plate, an inherently resilient leaf spring carried by said support plate and positioned adjacent said means in operative engagement with confronting portions of the free edges of said marginal flanges to urge said clamping plate into contact with the blade, actuatable blade ejecting mechanism operably associated with said support plate, and movable relatively thereto for ejecting a blade through said breech opening, and manual means for actuating said ejecting mechanism.

13. A razor including in combination: a handle; a head surmounting said handle and having an interior chamber for retaining a single-edge blade therein, said chamber terminating in an open breech end opposite the cutting edge of said retained blade; cam means operatively associated with said head and projecting into said chamber for alternate relative movement therein from and toward the open breech end to accommodate the insertion and ejection of said blade via the open breech end; spring means biasing said cam means into normally retracted position to accommodate insertion of a blade; and manual means operable in opposition to the force of said spring means for rotating said cam means to sequentially engage and eject the blade through the open breech end.

14. In a razor for use with a blade having a cutting edge opposite a butt edge, and an elongated slot intermediate said edges: a handle; a head surmounting the handle and including a blade-supporting plate and a blade-clamping plate in spaced relation relatively to one another; a depending marginal edge flange on each side of the clamping plate having a pivotal connection with the supporting plate; an interior chamber in the head formed by said plates and flanges; a breech opening defined by the rear marginal edges of said plates and flanges to accommodate the manual insertion of a blade into said chamber; means on the supporting plate combining with means on the clamping plate for releasably maintaining an inserted blade in effective cutting position; cam means operatively associated with said head and the elongated slot in the blade for effecting the ejection of said blade through the breech opening; leaf spring means normally biasing the cam means to inoperative position; and manually-operable means for actuating the cam means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 866,969 Sohimkat Sept. 24, 1907 923,077 Reichard May 25, 1909 977,314 Kampfe Nov. 29, 1910 1,770,604 Dalkowitz July 15, 1930 2,090,968 Testi Aug. 24, 1937 2,157,492 Livingston May 9, 1939 

